Abrogation of Art 370 need of the hour: V-P Venkiah Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday backed the scrapping of special status under Article 370 to Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was in the interest of the nation and should not be treated as a political issue.

It was the need of the hour and people of the country should stand with their counterparts in J and K, he said here at the release of a book on his two-year term in office titled "Listening, Learning & Leading", by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Naidu said Shah was being appreciated for the passage of the bill.

"Now that the bill is passed, I can speak...that (abrogation) is the need of the hour. Its a good thing," Naidu, who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said.

Naidu said the abrogation "is in the interest of the nation, for its future, for its security, for its safety. I can say that as a Vice President with considerable experience in public life and now that the Parliament has voted it also."
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam lauded Shah on the issue, saying he had "piloted one of the most important and courageous pieces of legislation in the parliamentary history of India."
He also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah "for their daring and historical achievement of removing the Article 370 of the Constitution."